Adam Schefter's Latest on Kirk Cousins, Falcons' Asking Price

The Atlanta Falcons pick 15th in the NFL Draft on Thursday night, but much of the conversation since Thanksgiving has involved what the Falcons would do with $100-million-man Kirk Cousins.

Cousins was benched "for football reasons" according to head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot after having been given a clean bill of health following a painful hit against the New Orleans Saints. Cousins admitted after the season that his shoulder and elbow bothered him during the subsequent 1-4 stretch that saw him throw nine interceptions and only one touchdown.

Cousins admitting he was hurting was an attempt to raise his value to another team after the Falcons made him the permanent backup to No. 8 overall pick Michael Penix Jr. That's something the Falcons would like, but counterproductive to raising Cousins's trade value, they insisted he was healthy and benched for performance reasons.

With zero talk of a quarterback competition heading into the 2025 season, it was clear to all Cousins's days in Atlanta were numbered. However, Fontenot has been doing what he can to recoup some value on the $100-million guaranteed he gave Cousins 13 month ago.

While publicly saying they'd be happy to have Cousins as the backup next season, an asking price has been floated by ESPN's Adam Schefter. The Falcons are on the hook for $37.5 million that they've already paid Cousins via signing bonus no matter what, but there's room to haggle over the other $37.5 million he's guaranteed over the next two seasons.

"Publicly, the Falcons have said they're not interested in trading quarterback Kirk Cousins," Schefter wrote on ESPN+. "Privately, they have had discussions with teams -- and have asked for a lot in return, per sources.

"Atlanta has asked for any acquiring team to pay $20 million of the $45 million worth of guarantees left on Cousins' contract. To date, no has been willing to do that, and no team is expected to be willing to."

With only five picks in this weekend's NFL Draft, and only two top-100 selections, the Falcons are in desperate need of more picks to add cheap, cost controlled talent to a roster that's thin on defense. However, moving Cousins ahead of he draft appears to be less and less likely considering the Falcons' asking price.

"But what happens this weekend -- and which franchises come out of the draft with or without rookie quarterbacks -- could influence how much guaranteed money a team might be willing to absorb on Cousins' contract," Schefter continued.

"There is a feeling around the league that a team, whether it is the Vikings or Steelers, might be willing to pay down roughly $10 million. How much any team would be willing to pay also would influence the compensation it gives up. The higher the payment, the lower the draft compensation; the lower the payment, the higher the draft compensation."

Falcons owner Arthur Blank publicly reiterated they'd be comfortable letting Cousins rot on the bench if it came down to it saying "we've already paid him." But a disgruntled, want-away veteran is bad for team chemistry and the development of a first-year starting quarterback. It's a distraction the Falcons definitely don't need.

"The Falcons and Cousins recognize their future is not together, and how it will play out could very well be influenced by this draft," Schefter concluded.

This is a messy divorce. The cost benefit isn't the reason to make this move. This move will be made because of a broken relationship that could become toxic to the rest of the team.

The Falcons should be able to get back the $10-million roster bonus that guarantees for 2026 and a Day 3 pick in 2026 for Cousins after the draft. Anything more than that would be shrewd negotiating by Fontenot to make the best of a bad deal that looks even worse in hindsight.